Below is an annotated list of children's literature for the elementary classroom. The books are organized by the Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum Design (Picower, 2007). It is based on work by pre-service teachers at Montclair State University. They have read and reviewed these books and provided insights into how they can be used in K-5 settings.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round

Summary: This book demonstrates the important events that African Americans experience during the Civil Rights Movement. The author creates a powerful informative text by bringing it to life. Rappaport includes songs, poems, memories, and quotes from well known activist as well as unheard individuals. The images of this book are vivid, direct, and emotionally moving. It illustrates the fear, sadness, determination, struggles, beliefs, and hopes for one day to be freed and treated equally.

Social Injustice:In reading this book, children will learn and have an understanding about the history of racism that African Americans encountered during the Civil Rights Movement. In this book, teachers can demonstrate the meaning of the word racism but, also, show the effects that racism had on individuals. Furthermore, this book illustrates that not only African American adults were treated unfairly but children of their age faced threats, too. It took brave individuals to take a stand and make a difference in the world. By this students are able to understand the journey that the African Americans had to overcome in order to be treated equally. After all, everyone should have equal rights no matter their sex, color, or religion.

Some activities that can be done from this book:

Students can be put into groups and select an event from the story. The children, then, can perform the part to the class.

Students can become storytellers and pick an event from the story that they liked.

Discuss or write about events in today’s society that deals with prejudice. For example, you can discuss about the Immigration reform and the Trail of Dream. This can be compared to the events in the book.